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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22444618">Lone Wolf//Perseverance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinfonianLegend/pseuds/SinfonianLegend'>SinfonianLegend</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Life Skills [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Everyone in Blue Lions is mentioned at least once, F/M, I don't think the violence is super graphic but I'm tagging it to be safe, but I don't want to go about tagging them all for that, but is it really a spoiler that he is angery?, minor spoilers for all of Felix's supports except Seteth's</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:01:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,151</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22444618</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinfonianLegend/pseuds/SinfonianLegend</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Garreg Mach is filled with hustle and bustle each and every day, but Felix proves it is entirely possible to carve out a piece of isolation there.  At what cost, however? The thought won't leave him be through his evening training session.  And then his distractions multiply.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annette Fantine Dominic &amp; Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Felix Hugo Fraldarius &amp; Glenn Fraldarius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Life Skills [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1490381</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Lone Wolf</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Turn.  Aim.  Fire.</em>
</p><p>Felix didn’t like bows.  Or rather, he didn’t like switching from swords to bows and back again.</p><p>He was trying to improve his reaction time, to be able to move from attacking close-range targets with his blade to aiming with his bow seamlessly.  To wear the transition time down to nothing.  Because for that moment in between, when he was reaching for his bow and drawing the bowstring back, he was vulnerable for far longer than he would be with a blade.</p><p><em>But,</em> he reminded himself sourly, <em>swords can’t hit a target with the precision and distance that an arrow can.</em>  So he practiced over and over lining up fatal shots from rest until his back muscles and arms burned.  Once that sear set in, he moved on to checking just how good his aim was by firing and not just lining up shots.  </p><p>For each shot he landed he was reminded of why he had been left completely alone for the entire weekend at the training grounds.  </p><p>Thwump.  <em>“Insatiable”</em>, he’d said to Sylvain.  It was true…but crossed a line.  Sylvain could say he wasn’t bothered by it all day long, but Felix knew him too long to not recognize he was hiding the sting.</p><p><em>“What is wrong with you? Can’t you find someone else to bother?”</em> He’d snapped at Mercedes.  Thwump.  Bullseye.  He didn’t’ know why he had been so irritable with her doing something nice for him.  But he did know he wasn’t ready to be treated like a sibling again.  He felt like that day would never come again, but there was no way she could have known that.</p><p>Dorothea had inferred his thoughts toward her and he hadn’t seen her since.  They weren’t thoughts of the nicest regard, but he supposed he could have spared her a little more patience.  He hissed under his breath.  Perhaps not; he missed the bullseye on the target by a hair’s length.    </p><p>Who knows what it was he said that sent Bernadetta running and screaming.  He sure didn’t.  The arrow whizzed past the target entirely.  He put more focus and care into the next shot.</p><p>Thwump.  Dedue’s blind obedience to the Boar was enough to make him retch, but Dedue had nothing.  It only made sense to latch onto the Boar.  Even if it twisted him into such a spineless weapon in the Boar’s hands.  That much Felix could understand.  It didn’t excuse it, but at least he could understand.  There was no need to be so sour about it to Dedue, especially when Dedue lacked the objectivity to see it for himself.  Or if he did, he didn’t care.  Felix wasn’t sure which was worse.</p><p>And the Boar Prince…it made him sick.  But was it wasn’t his fault he survived when the rest of his family did not, and as much as it made him seethe…it wasn’t Dimitri’s fault.  That the Boar had replaced the Dimitri he knew…that Dimitri would surface in these small glimpses but never more than that endlessly frustrated him.  The Dimitri he knew may not be dead after all, not that Felix could confirm it.  He had already shooed the Boar away from the training grounds and it would be awhile before he came sniffing back around.  </p><p>He wasn’t ready to apologize to Ingrid though it gnawed at his insides like a hunting hound with a bone that he needed to.  He just didn’t know how to approach it.  Could he even fix their friendship?  He told her she wasn’t suited for her childhood dream and to go find a husband.  Why did he even say that? </p><p><em>Because you can’t stand the thought of something happening to her when she tries to do the noble thing.  Just like what happened with Glenn.</em>  He drove the next target home with more force than necessary. <em>Shut up.  That wasn’t why.</em> That couldn’t be why.  Because he didn’t need anyone.  He was Felix Hugo Fraldarius.  </p><p>The Professor had asked him why he trained so relentlessly.  He had an answer.  </p><p>
  <em>Because it is all I can do.</em>
</p><p>Any attempts to do anything else, much less try to interact with people; he just shoved them away, whether he meant to or not.  And it just proved how ill-suited he was to the life he was born into.  How he dreaded its inexorable approach.</p><p>He had told Annette months ago that they all had a choice in their lives, even the noble folks, not that they were usually bold enough to consider it.  But the thought of casting away his right to his family’s name and lands made him freeze.  He hated his father and everything he would have to do once he succeeded his father many hears from now, but still, he found he couldn’t leave.  What a coward he was.</p><p>He thought he would feel some kind of accomplishment looking so deeply within himself, but he felt nothing but hollowness.  Sometimes it felt as though looking inward was the same as staring into a pond’s surface.  No way to know how deep the murky depths were.  A stupid reflection of his own face that didn’t help him at all. And the longer he stared in, the more unwilling he was to step into the waters.  </p><p>Felix had always thought the clarity he gained from training was a boon, but surrounded by nothing but silence, weapon scuffs, the quiet twang of the bowstring snapping arrows and the thwumps of arrows as they met their wooden targets…it was too much clarity.  No matter how much energy he burned away, he still felt antsy.  Exhaustion crept into the corners of his mind and yet the fervor and intensity of the energy he felt drove him to train into the night.  </p><p>It was as if he was water in a glass, filled to the very top, but no matter how much more water he added, the glass wouldn’t overflow.  The extra water just packed itself in somewhere and the pressure from holding so much was starting to become a nuisance.</p><p>But he didn’t understand why.  He had never needed people in his life before.  He had given up on that path after Glenn died.  And he had been just fine until now.  Hadn’t he?  </p><p>To be honest, he didn’t know.  It was just a swirl of something he didn’t understand inside him, bottled up with nowhere to go.  Normally training worked that out of him.  Was he sick?  </p><p>Felix collected all of his arrows and put his training weapons back.  He wasn’t going to get any more training done like this.  If it weren’t for the hour, Felix would go for a walk.  Not that he cared about getting in trouble, it was more the faces of the people he would inevitably walk into.  And right now he needed to be alone to sort this out.  </p><p>He sat down on the stone rim of the training grounds and plopped his feet onto the sand.  The moon had not yet reached its zenith, but it was fast approaching. His breath fogged in front of him. He sighed.  <em>What am I even doing?</em></p><p><em>“Isn’t it time you lighten up a bit, little bro?”</em>  Just like that, Glenn stood before him, arms crossed, a crimson blossom permanently emblazoned over his heart.  Pale as death.  With each day Felix caught up to the age gap that had stood between them.  <em>“And that’s coming from me.”</em></p><p>“Shut up,” Felix growled.  “You’re not real.”  But truly, Felix was unsure if the Glenn that he saw from time to time was truly in his head, or a ghost.  He was haunted all the same, so the difference only lay in how intact his sanity remained.</p><p><em>“Well hello to you, too,”</em> the phantasm of Glenn sighed, <em>“It’s no wonder you’ve had so much company lately.  When are you going to stop running away from reality just because you don’t like it?”</em></p><p>“When you leave me alone.” </p><p><em>“I really appreciate that you don’t want to end up like I did, but you don’t have to destroy all your friendships because you’re scared of them dying like me.”</em>  Glenn looked at him with almost pity and Felix’s eyes could have produced twin Thoron spells to pierce through Glenn.  </p><p>“They don’t understand, and neither did you!  None of them do,” Felix was practically spitting venom, “and none of them ever will.  So just move on already! I don’t need them, and I don’t need you.”  He clenched his fist so hard a few magical sparks crackled off of his hands.</p><p>Glenn was silent for a few moments.  When he spoke it was quiet.<em>“It breaks my heart to see you like this, Felix.  Please…you’re going to destroy yourself at this rate.”</em></p><p>“Just leave, you damned ghost,” his voice wavered. “Please...”  </p><p>“Felix?”</p><p>How hard was it to be left alone late at night on a weekend? He turned his head to the training ground entrance and when he glanced back to where Glenn’s ghost had stood; he was gone.  His gaze returned to the entrance.  “Who’s there?”</p><p>“It’s um, me, Annette…” her voice echoed meekly.  “I wanted to talk to you and figured you would be here…”  The closer she drew near, the more he noticed her fidgeting and her hands twiddling with purpose.  </p><p>“On one of our classmates’ behalf?  Or do you too have a quarrel with me?” he grumbled.  The edge certainly was missing from his voice but the growing sense of being off-kilter disquieted him to the point he could not hide it from her.</p><p>“No, not anything like that!” she said quickly, “But a few of them have asked me to make sure you’re okay…that’s not why I’m here though!  I mean I wanted to make sure you were okay myself but that’s not the main reason.”</p><p>“If they really cared they would ask me in person,” he growled.  “Go on.”</p><p>She waved her hands in front of herself apologetically.  “Wait, hold on, before I get to that.  For some reason or another, you seem to have clashed with a lot of our classmates lately right?”</p><p>There was no use trying to hide it; if he tried to dodge she would pout and prod unless he snapped and pushed her away, too.  And for some reason that prospect was unacceptable to him, deep down.  “…Yes.”</p><p>“You know you can set up a time to apologize with them right?  None of them are so angry they wouldn’t speak to you again.” Annette asked with concern.  “You don’t have to isolate yourself…but it isn’t my business!  I only wanted to remind you, as your friend.”</p><p>Her gentle emphasis on being his friend was not lost on him, but he stowed it away for future thought.  “Thanks,” he replied stiffly, “Now why are you up so late looking for me?”  </p><p>Her blue eyes reflected her intentions and emotions before she even spoke a word.  Her shoulders tensed up and her finger twiddling intensified.  It was a little difficult to tell by moonlight, but her face seemed to redden as well.  “I-I uh, y’see, I wanted t-to…okay hold, on let me start over.”  She took a few measured, deep breaths and expelled the last one loudly. “I want to be your adjutant.”</p><p>Felix was speechless.  He expected something along the lines of negotiations to meet with Mercedes or Sylvain for an apology.  An announcement for some stupid event or group work for a class.  Never had the thought even remotely crossed his mind that anyone would want to work with him on the battlefield, especially with his currently quite icy track record with other people.</p><p>Annette was capable on the battlefield with a wide array of magic at her disposal.  She would be valuable in cutting through enemies that normally would give someone like him problems…and he had no doubt of how capable she was.  But there had to be a reason she wanted to work with him.</p><p>“Why?” he asked hoarsely.  “Why me?”</p><p>“Because I think I would be good at covering your back with how you fight, and we work well together,” she rambled, picking up speed with every word.  “Ashe wouldn’t be able to help you with heavily armored foes, Dedue stays too close to Dimitri while you tend to be a part of flanking forces, Ingrid is better suited to aerial flanks and distraction, Sylvain is really getting interested in wyverns so he would be a bad matchup since you’re on foot all the time and also he has a habit of saying things that make you put distance between him and you which is really dangerous on the battlefield, Dimitri is part of the main force’s charge too often to work with you, and Mercie sticks to the backline and you’re too useful to be stuck there, so it really only makes sense since you don’t work with a battalion you need someone to watch your back—“ When was the last time she inhaled a breath?  Did she even need air?</p><p>“N-no, I see the functionality,” he interjected, “I meant why would you personally want to work with me?”  How could she not see that he was unpleasant like everyone else did?  “Why not Mercedes?  You two are best friends.”</p><p>Something flashed in her eyes but he couldn’t catch what emotion it was in its fleetingness. “Because you’re my friend, and you worry me.  And Mercie doesn’t need me to protect her.”  Felix normally wasn’t very good at reading into implications in conversations, but this one time it was clear.  She felt he needed her to protect him.</p><p>Annette must have seen his expression darken because the nervous panic was back in her eyes in full force.  “Not that you’re not capable!! It’s just, no one’s watching your back and one of these days you’re really going to get hurt because you took on too much and I can’t see that happen to one of my close friends!” she burst.</p><p>The familiarity of those words struck a chord within him.  It seemed he was wrong, too absorbed in his misery to see it before.  His focus and clarity had honed in on too narrow a point.  Glenn had taken on too much and didn’t let anyone cover his back.  Felix and Ingrid were still feeling the fallout of that choice.  </p><p>But Felix was free to make his own.</p><p>“I understand,” he said simply, “and I accept.”</p><p>It was true that all he could do was wield his sword, his bow, his magic.  But if he were strong enough, he could be there to stand by his friends and stop them from making stupid decisions that would get them killed.  But at the same time, it was a two-way road.  He couldn’t counsel them if he had exiled himself from their company.  And he had to accept their own words as well if he expected them to heed his.  </p><p>“Really?” she exclaimed.  The tension released from her shoulders and she grinned ear to ear.  “By the goddess I was so worried you’d say no or tell me you already had an adjutant or—I don’t know!!  Maybe you were planning on dropping out of school and becoming a wandering mercenary!”  He felt the side of his mouth twitch up into a small smile at the irony.  Even Annette’s wild imagination hit the nail on the head sometimes.  He didn’t have to make that particular choice right now, especially with the sense of foreboding that hadn’t left the monastery the last few months.  But now he had someone covering his back.  </p><p>“Really,” he answered.  “We should start training together immediately.  There’s no telling when we may be compelled to battle, especially while we’re waiting for any word of Jeralt’s killer being sighted.”<br/>
Annette nodded.  “I agree, but perhaps we should start tomorrow.  It seems you could use some rest.”</p><p>He wanted to protest but the last three days of relentless training had taken its toll on him.  “Good idea.  For all we know, Monica could be sighted tomorrow.”  They started walking back to the dorms together.  At least it wasn’t a far walk by any means.</p><p>“She gives me the creeps,” Annette shivered.  “I can’t believe we had saved her just for her to…it’s sickening.”</p><p>“It makes you wonder what happened to the real Monica,” Felix mused.  “I hope she’s at peace, wherever she is…”</p><p>“What if her ghost haunts the monastery?  Ohhh I wish I hadn’t said that…” she groaned.  </p><p>Felix wished he could assure her there were no ghosts in the monastery but he knew he saw Glenn every now and then and had since he died.  The bastard wouldn’t stop haunting him, and if he could stand on the monastery’s hallowed ground any old ghost probably could…or the Glenn he saw was a figment of his imagination.  And ghosts weren't real.</p><p>“Maybe she’s a friendly ghost?” He offered.  Annette didn’t seem terribly comforted by the prospect.  “One that helps you find lost things or something like that.  There’s stories about those kinds of ghosts out there.”</p><p>“No way!” she hissed.  “She probably died horribly and wanders the grounds soliciting curfew breaking students about returning her body or something sad and creepy like that!”  Her eyes darted around, searching for any strange activity around them.  Alas, all was quiet.   </p><p>Felix sighed.  “Well if that really is the case, I don’t think she would be able to actually hurt you or anything.”</p><p>“What makes you say that?” she furrowed her eyebrows trying to puzzle out why he would know anything about the capabilities of ghosts.  “Ashe says ghosts are able to do all sorts of awful things to you like give you a horrible illness, make you have bad luck for years, possess people, steal your bones…but if you really aren’t scared of that you’re just as brave as you seem Felix.”</p><p>He coughed.  “That sounds like a fire and brimstone lecture from the local friar more than anything factual.”  <em>How does stealing one’s bones even work?  Especially when they’re inside your body? </em> Felix stopped himself and reminded himself that pursuing this line of reasoning was pointless.  It was something about being around Annette made him consider the fantastical. “In any case, with all the faithful members of the church about, I doubt any seriously harmful ghosts wander the monastery.”</p><p>Annette thought to herself before sighing in resignation.  “You’re right.  Besides, we’ve got bigger things to worry about than ghosts.  Like trying to help the Professor get back to normal.  She’s even quieter than she was when she first came to the monastery...I hope she’s okay.”</p><p>“Me too.” He too was concerned about the professor’s withdrawal who barely said a word outside of teaching while at the same time insisting to carry all her normal duties.  Not that he was one to recognize when someone desperately needed to rest and heal…but even he noticed the weight of it all dragging her down.  He had initially advocated her to be proactive in her recovery, but perhaps that mentality to keep moving despite all else wasn’t good for someone like the Professor.</p><p>It was just then they arrived at Annette’s door.  Felix bid her goodnight and walked upstairs to his own room with practiced ease keeping anyone from detecting him.  He checked under the bed to find Zoltan dozing, then readied himself for bed.  For the first time in days, the unease that ate at the corners of his mind had died down to a manageable level.  Perhaps he would actually be able to get restful sleep.  Within a few minutes of laying down his consciousness slipped away.  His sleep was dreamless and the most actual rest he had gotten in over a week.  </p><p>A loud rapping interrupted that genuinely rest.  He shot up out of bed and strode across the room to the door, barely aware of the time or anything at all.  The Boar, relatively unkempt for once, stood in the hallway.</p><p>“Prepare for battle.  Monica’s been sighted and the Professor wants us at her side confronting her,” he said breathlessly.  “We need to leave in one hour.”  With that he spun and walked down the hall to the next room to wake more of their classmates up.  </p><p>Felix shut the door and picked up his pocket watch from his desk.  <em>7:30 am.</em>  Already his head felt like a bag of bricks and his muscles groaned from the relentless drilling he put them through, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed with warmups and coffee.</p><p>And then he remembered the events of yesterday and his heart fell through his stomach to the floor.  His first battle alongside Annette was going to be in helping the Professor get some answers about her father’s death.  Monica and Solon had already put their disregard for human life full on display.  This was a far more dangerous situation than just brigands or the odd demonic beast.  </p><p>He trusted his skills to protect himself, but a tiny voice at the back of his mind wondered if he was enough to protect his adjutant as well.  </p><p>But he was Felix Hugo Fraldarius.  If he knew nothing else, it was that he would succeed.  Failure was not an option.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: So this one is a bit shorter because it’ll be a two-parter!  As this half is Lone Wolf from Felix’s perspective, the next one is Perseverance, from Annette’s perspective, going right into the fight at the end of the Guardian Moon/January.  I don’t know if I’ll do any in the future in this format, it’s just because this one is based off their personal skills that it worked out like this.<br/>I also want to say I am staggered by the amount of kudos and comments I’ve gotten on the other two one-shots in this series.  Because I’m in school, my update speed is essentially a trickle, but thank you so much for your support!! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully the second part will follow at a reasonable time!...but school has been perpetually kicking my butt and continues to do so, so I will try my best to get it done!</p><p>Again, thanks for reading :3!<br/>~Legend</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Perserverance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Annie, get up!  If you don’t get moving I’ll have to get Ingrid to knock your door down!” Mercie’s sweet voice pulled her out of the warm void of sleep but her body fought her on every count.  It had taken so long to fall asleep the night before after she had talked about ghosts with Felix.  What could possibly be so important Ingrid was going to have to knock her door down?</p><p>“Okay, I’m getting up,” Annette tried to call to the door but it was so slurred there was no way Mercedes was going to buy that she was actually awake and moving. </p><p>“It’s really important!  We all have to leave in an hour, we have to support the Professor!” Mercedes’ whispered loudly.  The Professor?  Annette jolted awake.  She scrambled to the door and poked her head out.</p><p>“What do you mean we have to support the Professor? What happened?” Annette hoped Mercie couldn’t see the full extent of her bedhead, despite Mercedes of all people knowing just how bad her bedhead could get.  She didn’t bother to comb her hair out after taking it out of the normal loops before going to bed, so it was likely to look as if a typhoon had occurred, but locally occurring within her room...which wasn’t totally out of the question considering her knack for wind magic.</p><p>“Monica’s been sighted in the Sealed Forest, but we have to hurry!  Dimitri told the Professor but Lady Rhea didn’t want the Professor to know, so we have to act quickly before she can stop us,” Mercie explained with urgency. </p><p>“Understood.  I’ll be ready!  Thanks Mercie!” Already her nerves and anticipation pushed her mind to working full throttle.  Not only did she have physical warm ups to do, she had to apply several layers of wards and strengthening spells before she could even think about entering the fray.  Normally she had a few hours to prepare at the monastery, and even more on the road to their destination. </p><p>So understandably, it was only natural Annie showed up to the monastery gates with her hair falling out of its loops, frantically mumbling the last of her first round of ward incantations, and she was pretty sure her undershirt was on backwards but it was far too late to fix that now.  To her misfortune she had also misplaced her traveling cloak and would freeze to death on the way to the battlefield, or perhaps before they even left judging by how her teeth chattered even then.  She did not feel any better about her situation seeing Felix neatly put together.  Who she would not be able to avoid looking as much of a mess around.  Because she was his adjutant now.  Why did she decide she wanted to do this again?</p><p>“Ah…rough morning, hm?” he asked, his breath adding a new cloud to the air.  As if he didn’t realize their discussion of ghosts was the reason she barely slept.  Felix was lucky the Professor chose that moment to call the class to the front of the small crowd, because otherwise she would have reamed him out. She needed to start thinking of a better insult for Felix than just being a villain—</p><p>“Alright is everyone here?” the Professor’s voice rang out in the Marketplace, quieting the class and their battalions instantly.  She looked to be as composed as she always was, with the light in her eyes just glimmering their return after having been gone for nearly a month.  “We’re moving out.  It should take about an hour to get there, so please keep that in mind.  Once we’re closer, we can begin scouting for a plan of attack.”  She paced in front of all of them, making eye contact with each of the Blue Lions in turn.  When she spoke, it was quieter.  “Thank you all for coming.  Again, you are welcome to stay behind if you wish.  This is my battle, not yours.”</p><p>“Everyone in our class is here, Professor.  We stand with you.  Isn’t that right everyone?” Dimitri turned and called out to the small crowd.  A cheer bubbled up from the gathered soldiers and students—<em>weren’t we supposed to be leaving in secret?</em>  Perhaps she had missed something in the hurry to not be late.  The gates opened and the Professor and Dimitri mounted their horses.  Wait.  Their horses!  She hadn’t gotten Snowball out of the stables yet!</p><p>It seemed that fact was not lost on Felix, either.  “You’re welcome to ride with me if you’d like.  I’m sure you could ask Mercedes as well.”  As much as she wanted to spare herself the embarrassment and ride with Mercedes, she had a kind of nervous, guilty energy bubbling up within her.  She needed to be as ready as she could be working with Felix for this battle.  And that meant having better teamwork than they currently had, as it most definitely hadn’t been tested on the battlefield for real yet.  Sure she had helped him out here and there or vice versa, but nothing like this sort of thing.</p><p>Besides…it would give her plenty of time to give him a piece of her mind, and get the last of her incantations in.  Maybe even fix her hair.  Snowball tended to be willful in the sense that he went where he willed it if she wasn’t giving him direction. </p><p>“Um…I’ll ride with you if that’s alright,” Annette stuttered, “I have to finish my wards still.”  Felix’s eyebrows shot up but wisely, he said nothing.  He was probably judging her for not having her wards done yet.  <em>Stupid Felix.</em> </p><p>But with Stupid Felix’s help, she swung up onto his horse in front of him and realized she had better start focusing on those wards right this second or she never would.  The delightfully warm presence behind her would be so enthralling she would have no hope of staying on task much less staying awake. They were on their way to a battlefield to help the Professor.  They were going to get justice for Jeralt’s killer.  But the way his arms rested on her to reach the reins.  <em>What am I thinking?  Our lives are going to be in danger!</em>  She had to get it together!</p><p>To her relief, Felix continued to be silent as she began her Flame Ward aloud.  He only gently steered his mare along the path down from the monastery.  Unfortunately, despite Annette’s attention already being quite taxed, another distraction was on the way.</p><p>“Oh man, oh geez, oh crap,” Bernadetta’s voice, quiet at first but progressively getting closer with alarming speed, “Excuse me! I’m sorry!  Pardon me!”  Her horse cantered along and slowed clumsily when she reached Annette and Felix.  They had slid to the tail end of their forces at their leisurely pace, so they must have been the first of her classmates Bernie had encountered.  “Oh Annette! I’m trying to figure out what’s going on and no one seems to know—Wh-Felix?!  Why are you riding with Felix of all people??” her voice shot up an octave and cracked as the panic set in full force.  Annette couldn’t stop her incantation now, so she just said it louder and gestured to get the point across to Bernadetta.  She hoped Felix would fill Bernadetta in.</p><p>“Annette’s my adjutant now,” he said simply.  The rumble of his voice vibrated in her chest, but still she persevered in her wards. She wasn’t far from the end of this one and she only had to establish the Ward of Sparks now—</p><p>“EEEK!” Bernadetta’s scream pierced through her head and ricocheted off the mountainside to smack her in the face again, “I’m sure you’re holding poor Annette hostage! You’re so scary there’s no way that’s true!”  She set off again at full gallop, though to Annette it seemed Bernadetta’s screech had spooked the poor thing so badly it wasn’t by choice Bernadetta was catapulting through the host at that speed<em>.  You would think her horse would be used to that,</em> Annette wondered and that single break in focus was her downfall.</p><p>Even Felix had the tact to not ask anything when she stopped chanting.  She stared into the dark fur and coarse mane of Felix’s horse and tried to convince herself she hadn’t just messed up her ward in the very last word.  No.  There was no way.  After all of that—</p><p>And then Sylvain slowed his horse and appeared beside them.  “Um…You do realize you messed up the conjugation on that verb right?  I’m not trying to be rude, I just want to make sure you know—“Internally, Annette swore with greater color than Caspar, Balthus, and Hilda combined did on a regular basis.  Externally, she furrowed her eyebrows and sighed heavily.</p><p>“I appreciate the concern but yes, I realized that Sylvain,” she responded flatly.  “I better start over.”  And again she began chanting the ward.  Her mistake was so painful not just because it was the last word, but because there was no excuse for her to flub a conjugation like that.  It was in the Goddess’ Tongue.  The common tongue of Fodlan had morphed out of it over time, but once someone figured out the words to cast they weren’t going to risk messing it up by translating it to other languages, even if it was derivative of the original; she was pretty sure someone lost a kidney discovering that.  The fact she had even messed up the ward made her anxious she was going to spontaneously combust or something equally awful.</p><p>Sylvain didn’t need to be told to shoo, he could read it from both Annette and Felix’s faces.  When Annette finished the Flame Ward, correctly this time, she took a break to get an apple from her pack and drink from her canteen.</p><p>“What the-I swear I packed a few apples…” she muttered, rifling through her pack’s contents. </p><p>Felix sighed.  “You probably did.”</p><p>“Then where are they?!”  It was quite difficult to search a bag without removing anything.</p><p>“I forgot to mention that Iselda is a bit of an apple thief…apologies,” he mumbled.  “I’ll get you new apples, of course.”  The Morfisian mare glanced back as if she knew she was being talked about.</p><p>“I suppose every horse has its quirks,” she sighed.  Annette supposed Snowball’s tendencies were a bit more bearable than her snacks getting stealthily stolen.  Already her stomach gurgled sadly.  But with no food on hand, there was no use lingering on it.</p><p>“You know, there was something the Professor said when I turned in the adjutant paperwork…something about you having special requests for an adjutant?  What was that all about?” she asked.  She felt the laughter he restrained, the puff of air on her hair and the small pulse through his shoulders and stomach… and again remembered that not staying on task was a mistake.</p><p>“I almost forgot about that,” he mused.  “I wrote that I would only accept someone who was…” his pause gave her the sense whatever he was about to say was offensive in some way.  Oh no.  She already had to give him an earful about the ghosts still.  When he did speak, his voice was soft and low.  “Well…my equal.”  She was glad he couldn’t see the blush on her face, or how flustered she looked, or her reaction at all.</p><p>“I don’t know what the Professor was thinking then,” Annette huffed hurriedly.  “She shouldn’t have accepted my paperwork then.” </p><p>“You’re the only adjutant I’ve ever accepted,” he stated evenly.  “Shouldn’t that be proof enough?  If both the Professor and I believe you to be, what more could you ask for?”  Annette didn’t want to unpack that statement right now.  In her frazzled, sleep-deprived mind her only way forward with the battle ahead was to evade.  Because she knew that she stood alongside her classmates, but still she doubted she truly belonged there.  And with Felix implying she was just as peerless with magic as he was with a blade…that just could not be true.  So instead of continuing the conversation, she quietly started the Shadow Ward. </p><p>But still, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.  As the army had reached the base of the mountains and descended into sun-dappled forest, she finished the incantation. And with nothing better to do than to deal with what was eating at her, she launched right back into it.  Running away wasn’t going to solve anything after all. </p><p>“How could someone like me who can’t even say basic wards right be your equal?” she asked, gloomy.  “There isn’t anyone better with a sword than you.  You excel at tactics and resource management.  And underneath that scowl of yours there’s something really special...You could do anything you put your mind to.  There’s nothing more to me than being perky and tenacious.”  She didn’t get a response.  She twisted her head around to check on him and he jerked upright.  His eyes shot open. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” his apology was more genuine, softer than his normal tone of voice and it made her heart skip a beat.  “I must have dozed off.  Did you say something?” </p><p>She couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of her.  “How do you fall asleep upright on a horse?”</p><p>“Practice.  Lots of pointless business trips with my father.”</p><p>There it was.  No one was perfect, not even Felix.  It didn’t matter how put together he seemed, he was just as exhausted as she was.  She decided since he was suffering through like her, she didn’t need to give him a hard time about the ghosts.  And to think she had believed him when he said he wasn’t scared of ghosts!  He sure had a good poker face.  “Were you saying something?”</p><p>“Not at all,” she smiled to herself and closed her eyes.  With Felix behind her and the sun on her face, she could get used to this. </p><p><em>What am I thinking?</em>   What <em>was</em> she thinking?  She quickly shoved the thought away.  What else needed to be done?  Annette worked her hair out of the sad loops she had haphazardly thrown them into and decided to work it into a braid once it was detangled. </p><p>“I had no idea your hair was so long,” Felix commented.  He sounded quite drowsy still, his voice was hoarse.</p><p>“It surprises me too sometimes since I keep it tied back all the time,” she giggled.  “I should probably ask Mercie to cut mine soon, it’s starting to get a little ridiculous.  I’ll have a braid like Ingrid’s in no time at this rate!” </p><p>“Longer hair would suit you, I think.  I-I mean, anything you do with your hair suits you,” he backpedaled immediately.  For once, even she was able to realize he didn’t mean any harm by the initial statement.</p><p>“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” she noted.  If she ever needed to impress Felix she knew what to do with her hair then. </p><p>The forces ahead of them began to slow and before they knew it, they had arrived at the provisional camp.  They left Iselda with the other animals kept for travel and found the makeshift strategy tent where the Professor was waiting for them.  All around them the sounds of swords being sharpened, the dull murmur of wards being cast mixed with the birdsong brought a nervous, excited energy to the small camp.  There was no one within Garreg Mach that did not support Jeralt’s killer being brought to justice. </p><p>The meeting swept by in a flurry, but it boiled down to there being two main teams splitting around a small copse and converging on Monica, who simply stood at the center of the Sealed Forest.  She even reportedly waved at one of the pegasus knight scouts.</p><p>Annette and Felix would be part of the group including the Dimitri, Bernadetta, Flayn, and Sylvain.  The other group was comprised of Ingrid, the Professor, Ashe, Dedue, and Mercedes.  Felix negotiated their role of taking out problematic targets and finishing off Demonic Beasts as necessary.  Initially Ashe had made a case for doing that, but his accuracy at a range was deemed too valuable an asset in dealing with Demonic Beasts, and each team would have to deal with at least one if not more.  With everyone’s roles laid out, once everyone was in position, it would be time to move.</p><p>As they all exited the war tent to gather their battalions, Annette felt a slight tug at her sleeve. “Good luck, Annie!  I’m sure you and Felix will do great together,” Mercie wished her with her usual cheer.</p><p>“I just hope we don’t die,” Anette sighed, her anxiety palpable. It wouldn’t do her any good to be this tense going into the fight but she couldn’t help it.</p><p>“Die?  Oh Annie,” Mercedes giggled, “How could you possibly think that’s even an option when you haven’t filled me in yet on the juicy details about you and Felix lately?  Him?  Taking an adjutant?  And that adjutant is you?  Whom I might add was reportedly out quite late last night?”  Her eyebrows bounced, clearly assuming the worst.  “That’s almost as much news as Monica being sighted!”</p><p>Annette could have died in that moment, but luckily the Goddess did not yet wish Annette to join her in the heavens above.  Felix called her over so she could spit out a “talk to you later Mercie good-luck bye!!” and flee as fast as she could without looking desperate about it.</p><p>“You just saved my life,” she wheezed.  “Thanks.”  </p><p>“That battle hasn’t even started yet,” the side of his mouth quirked up into a smirk.  “As long as you return the favor.”</p><p>“Of course,” she accepted faintly.  One thing at a time.  It couldn’t be that hard to save Felix from a social situation either, so she didn’t bother giving it any more thought.  It then struck her that Felix still seemed just as calm as he had been earlier that morning, while she had only gotten progressively more agitated.  “Hey, can I ask you a question?”  They started making their way through the undergrowth, careful not to make too much noise.  It was such a beautiful day…she wished they could have been there on a leisure trip.  “How are you so calm right now?”</p><p>“If I didn’t put the effort in to compose myself, I wouldn’t be able to fight,” he shrugged, sidestepping a patch of poison ivy ahead of her.</p><p>“How do you even do that?” she persisted, trying to ignore the shiver creeping up her spine.  Damn it was cold, but once they got moving she was sure she would be fine.  “I think finding a way to calm myself down before a battle would be super helpful.”</p><p>“Well…” Felix seemed at a loss for how to explain and searched the shrubbery and grasses for an answer.  “I just…let my thoughts flow by.  Like if I were a stone in a stream.”    </p><p>“O…kay…” She frowned.  It was a little hard to grasp.  But still, she would give it a try.  She took a deep breath in, ducked under a pine tree bough and resolved to not engage the thoughts that popped into her head.  It was probably for best anyway, to be quiet as they approached the enemy.</p><p>
  <em>What if the way I messed up the Flame Ward negates me redoing it?  And then I’ll get hit with a fireball and burn to a crisp!  And it’s too late for me to redo it now again…come to think of it I’ve never tried to apply wards twice.  Does something bad happen if you do that?  None of the professors ever mentioned it, but maybe that’s because it would do something so horribly bad it’s unspeakable—</em>
</p><p>A rabbit darting out of the brush startled her so bad her thoughts even slammed to a halt.  Maybe she needed to be startled by rabbits more often.  Annette didn’t think she would be able to take that much heart failure, though. </p><p>Ahead of her, Felix froze and put an arm out to signal her to stop.  She couldn’t tell there was anyone around…but perhaps she just couldn’t see whatever it was he did.  She quickly glanced to her wrist for a bracelet embedded with a deep blue crystal.  If it turned orange, the order had been given for the battle to begin.  They could even receive orders telepathically infrequently through the stones.  It was a system the Professor had developed with Professor Hanneman in situations like this, and it was handy…but the stone remained a clear blue. </p><p>Felix reached for the blade at his side with his free arm, ever so slowly.  Annette readied a wind spell in her mind and scanned the perimeter for someone to fire it at.  They couldn’t see very far with all the tall bushes…but she had the niggling feeling they were being watched. </p><p>She caught the shine of a glass goggle pane through the blackberry bush to their left and instinctively shot off a pointed breeze in three swooping arcs, thankfully missing the trees before they honed in on their target.  The fact that the bush they hid themselves in suddenly became a pile of twigs and they were unscathed confirmed to her they were a mage.  At the sound of the bush snapping into pieces, Felix pivoted and charged the enemy. </p><p>“They’re here!  The Fell Star—“ the mage called out, but their mask muffled their voice.  Felix drove his blade through their throat swiftly and the body crumpled, pooling blood on the forest floor.  Now, the birdsong around them had shifted to warning cries and panicked wingbeats.  Annette glanced to her bracelet.  It throbbed sunset orange. </p><p>“There’s got to be more of them close, you should stay behind me,” she coughed.  As her heart rate had picked up, the cold morning air began to scratch at her lungs.  And she hadn’t even started running yet.</p><p>“I don’t think that’s a good idea…”he said, skepticism creeping into his voice.  “If there’s anything but mages ahead, I’m much quicker on my feet than you.” </p><p>“Why don’t we just stick close together then?  That’ll make it easier for me to shield you.”</p><p>He nodded, but still seemed just a bit uneasy. Annette did her best to ignore the bleeding body as they carefully proceeded through the forest. </p><p>Now the sounds of battle crept in.  The cries of soldiers, sharp clangs of metal on metal, the static charge in the air…the unearthly howl of a demonic beast not far off. </p><p>They were coming up on a clearing, but weren’t the only ones.  Half a dozen mages in the same robes and odd mask as the one they had slain before waited at standby.  The pair crouched in the undergrowth.</p><p>Annette wasn’t used to feeling so….outnumbered like this.  But they had the element of surprise.  The mages had their backs to them.  Before she could even finish turning to Felix, she heard a soft bowstring twang and one of the mages crumpled like a house of cards.  The others whipped around and hurled blasts of malignant shadows their way.  She stood and held both arms out.  The blasts dissipated the moment they reached her.  A few prickled uncomfortably and tingled a little, but it wasn’t anything pressing.  Felix pressed their advantage and flew past her, running his blade through one, then two, using the first he stabbed as a shield from another blast before removing another two effortlessly.  The last one tried to flee and she buried a hand axe in their left shoulder blade before they could even leave the clearing.  Felix finished them off for her, running his blade through their back.  Just like that, six lives extinguished.</p><p>She reminded herself who these people were.  That they turned students into demonic beasts, razed an entire village and destroyed those villagers’ minds all for no real reason at all.  Just to make others suffer.  Her heart froze over. </p><p>“Here.” Felix handed Annette her hand axe.  A shadow passed overhead and they reflexively turned their gaze skyward.  Ingrid and her battalion of pegasus knights glided and charged toward a demonic beast Dimitri and Sylvain kept occupied.  Enemy knights and cavaliers surged toward their position.  But they weren’t the target Annette knew they needed to remove.</p><p>“Archers stationed on the other end of the clearing.  Shall we?” she pointed to the soldier scurrying down a tree, wearing the telltale pointed hat of a sniper.  Felix ran ahead of her.  Should she watch to cover his approach?  Everything happened so quickly in battle moments of indecision like this could prove fatal.  She decided to not think and just follow him.  If it came to the worst she could try to patch him up herself. </p><p>“Prepare for battle!” one of the archers cried.  She hoped there weren’t too many of them.  An arrow fell out of the sky and planted itself in the chest of the archer who made the callout.  Annette glanced back to see Bernadetta and her skittish steed scurrying back to the safety of cover.  The demonic beast let out an unearthly howl, to which another cry echoed across the forest.</p><p>Annette mouthed the words to shape the breeze around her into wide, whipping bands once more, chucking them over Felix where they would safely angle back down into the trees where she thought she could spot more archers crouched.  Felix ducked without looking at her.  Did he not trust her control to not hurt him?  <em>No time for thoughts like that now.</em></p><p>Really, battle held a rhythm to her.  As long as she flowed along with that rhythm, everything was fine. </p><p>Crimson bloomed from her left arm.  She grimaced.  Clearly she hadn’t read the flow of this skirmish right.  Ahead of her, Felix bobbed and weaved through archers desperately reaching for shortswords and combat knives.  She couldn’t see him completely from where she stood, exposed in the clearing, but he looked busy.  Too busy to notice the archer in the tree nocking an arrow. </p><p>“Felix, up and behind you!” With her free hand she spun a small, dense fireball and hurled it at the tree.  It was a messy, molten thing, but it would do the job.  The glowing cinders and sparks splattered the tree and she could only hope it wouldn’t catch.  The archer sprung out of the tree to avoid the fireball, but Felix was able to catch up to them when they hit the ground.  Annette wobbled over.  “Are we clear?”</p><p>“As far as I can tell.”  He scanned their surroundings.  “Take a moment and rest.  I’ll watch for our next move.”</p><p>She mumbled out a thanks and plopped down against a tree, devoid of archer corpses. She uncorked the vulnerary in her pack and took a swig of it.  While waiting for it to kick in, she knit her own blood vessels back together and patched the area surrounding the arrow enough to remove it.  The important thing was that she wouldn’t bleed out, but she was still pretty sure the force had fractured her arm.</p><p>“You should tell me to come back if you’re not completely covered, in the future.”  Felix sighed. </p><p>“I didn’t know I wasn’t completely covered,” Annette groaned.  Her arm tingled and throbbed.</p><p>“…I shouldn’t have rushed ahead.  I’m sorry.”  He seemed to be avoiding her gaze.</p><p>“It’s fine, really.  We’ll just do better next time!” she moved her injured arm without thinking and instantly regretted it.  Should she make a sling?  No, she would wait for the vulnerary to kick in.  Already she could feel the pain ebbing and her senses sharpening.  The two of them turned at the enraged howl of the demonic beast.  It seemed to be on its last limbs.  Literally.</p><p>“How are you feeling?  Ready to move?”  Felix rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles.  Annette rose and nodded. </p><p>“Yeah!  Should we help with the demonic beast?” It would reunite them with their group and give them a better chance going forward. </p><p>“Good idea, but I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”  Just as he spoke one of the demonic beast’s legs gave out and it crumpled to the ground, unmoving.  Within minutes Dimitri and the others made their way over. </p><p>“Good to see you two are well! You have excellent timing,” Dimitri panted, a little banged up but in fighting form still. “Shall we move on together and reconvene with the Professor?”</p><p>“If there were another way to assist the Professor without going on together I would take it, Boar,” Felix spat.  Sylvain sighed.  Flayn laughed nervously.</p><p>The silence hung just a moment too long.  Annette realized if she didn’t say something, Felix was going to invent a reason not to go with the others, which was frankly silly on the battlefield.</p><p>“But there isn’t another way, so let’s get going, Felix!” Annette injected cheer into her voice and used her now-not super fractured arm to tug Felix’s sleeve.  He grumbled a moment but thankfully fell into step with the others as they proceeded through the forest path. </p><p>As a group, they were remarkably efficient. With Flayn supporting them, Sylvain calling out enemy locations and scouting, Bernie with her well-placed arrows, and Dimitri and Felix fighting as a cohesive unit remarkably well considering the conversation only moments before, they advanced efficiently through the forest faster than enemies could spring up to stop them.</p><p>When at last the path opened up into an enormous clearing, they found the Professor’s sword bearing down upon Monica, who cackled and twirled with inhuman speed.  Her appearance fell away and now her skin was ashen, her eyes a gleeful crimson. </p><p>“It’s Kronya, now, by the way.  I’m sick of you all calling me by the name of that pathetic waif,” she sneered, dancing away.  Ashe planted an arrow in her leg and she didn’t even flinch.  “The name of Jeralt’s killer is Kronya, you worms!  If you think you can take me come on and try!” she called out, raising her arms out theatrically like a performer.  “But don’t blame me when it bites you in the ass!”  Kronya cackled, and Annette hated how much Kronya seemed to enjoy the malice in the clearing directed at her. </p><p>“Oh the little princeling’s up first?”  Dimitri charged in, landing a couple blunt force blows that would have killed a normal man but she took them in stride and knocked him flying across the stone plaza.  Annette could see Felix bracing himself to get in there.</p><p>“Absolutely not,” she hissed.  “She just knocked Dimitri out like he was a sack of potatoes!  You’ll get yourself killed-let the others chip away at her first.”  He stared ahead at Sylvain riding toward Kronya at a breakneck pace just to chuck a javelin at her.  He missed, but got a weird tail-dagger through the leg for his trouble.</p><p>“You’re right,” Felix mumbled.  “You call when we go in then.”  <em>Wait.</em>  Felix was trusting her when to call it?  <em>Oh Goddess in her kingdom above.</em>  What if she got him <em>killed?</em>  Bernadetta leveled an arrow at Kronya’s thigh making her stumble, but Kronya cackled and the strange protrusion in her back extended to an absurd length and smacked into Bernadetta, who fell off her horse from the force of the blow.  Annette’s heart leapt through her chest, but Bernie staggered to her feet with no visible injuries.  <em>Steady.  Not yet.</em>  Her heart skipped a beat and she felt as if the entire world did, too.</p><p>Ingrid dove low and landed a biting blow into Kronya’s shoulder, who hadn’t seen the attack coming at all.  She hissed and tried to counterattack but Ingrid and her pegasi skillfully avoided the strange dagger-like tails.  Now Kronya was looking to be in bad shape.  She no longer moved with quite as much dexterity and breathed heavily.  Still, Felix held, waiting for Annette’s signal.  He was really trusting her. </p><p>A spectacular explosion burst from Kronya and while the untrained eye would think it an enemy attack, Annette knew better.  She could spot Mercie’s handiwork a mile away.  She was not playing games today.  But Kronya’s wards must have been strong because she still stood.  She walked, slightly unsteady on her feet, toward Mercedes’ position, behind Dedue and the Professor.</p><p>“Now.  I’ll set you up.”</p><p>“I’ll follow your lead.”</p><p>In that moment Annette didn’t think about what she was going to do.  And in that moment she understood what it was Felix was trying to explain to her earlier before the fighting started.  Her body fell into routine: she focused a concentrated sphere of winds that would eviscerate a normal man. But Kronya only turned toward Annette, fixated on the now much closer, easier target. </p><p>She bounded across the clearing with blistering speed and giggled, murder in her crimson eyes.  “Oh the little mage wants to play?” Annette felt like she was going to puke except she also felt like she left her stomach several feet away so that wasn’t possible. Instead she shaped the wind to push her away from Kronya, or at least, throw off wherever Kronya was aiming for her to be.  That little trick left Kronya just open enough for Felix to stab her through the stomach.  Before either of the could react one of her tail-daggers ripped straight through Felix’s abdomen and the other narrowly missed Annette-she rolled across the stone just in time, trying to anticipate the speed at which Kronya could retaliate.  Kronya pulled the sword out of her stomach with disgust and tossed it.  “Cute trick, but I’ll make you pay.  And you’re going to watch him die.  All of you will, or I’ll kill them both instantly!” she called out to their forces in the clearing.  <em>Even in the state she’s in, she’s toying with us.</em></p><p>Felix collapsed to his knees, bracing himself against the pavement.  He coughed up blood.  His eyes were wild gold, flashing like falling coins.  Somehow, Annette could intuitively read his small gestures with his eyes, his fingers.  She beckoned the wind and with it, his finely honed blade in her hands that she didn’t have much experience with-she was an axe girl herself-but could hold her own with, just long enough.  That’s all she needed.</p><p>They only had to keep Kronya distracted for a short time.  Kronya only had one pair of eyes, after all. </p><p>Annette rolled to her feet and ran to Kronya, not caring the sound of her boots on stone gave away the element of surprise.  Kronya spun around, her face betraying her own sick delight.  “Oh? The pipsqueak can use a sword, what a surprise!” Annette’s palms began to sweat.  She could not afford a mistake.  With eerie speed yet again one of Kronya’s tail-daggers pressed against Felix’s-Annette’s now-blade.  The amount of force Annette was struggling to hold her ground with was staggering. If she hadn’t seen Felix’s blade go in one side and out the other she would have assumed he didn’t actually manage to stab Kronya.  <em>How long can I keep this up? </em>  She dimly registered footsteps rapidly approaching.  <em>Not long.  Just survive.</em> </p><p>She removed her non-dominant hand from the hilt and forced it against her own blade closer to the tip for a better grip.  “Aw you’re really trying.  Use those stick arms of yours,” Kronya sneered, “Not like you’ll need them when you’re dead.  And then you can’t protect anyone.  You just have to watch as it all burns.”</p><p>“It’ll take more than you to stop me,” Annette growled, her voice low.  It was then the Professor swung the Sword of the Creator and it bit deeply into Kronya’s shoulder.  Kronya gasped and retreated into the center of the plaza but the Professor didn’t miss a beat.  The fury in her dark eyes was absolutely terrifying, in a way Annette hoped she would never be on the receiving end of.  It was in moments like this she understood why the Professor was called the Ashen Demon as a mercenary.  </p><p>All of a sudden Mercie was at her side, white magic sigils bright around her and Felix gently glowing green.  His eyes fluttered open, dazed. “What happened?”</p><p>“I did what you asked me to,” Annette said quickly, looking to the Professor raining relentless blows on Kronya.  “Please don’t ever sharpen the other side of your swords.” Thank the Goddess she knew Felix kept his swords honed finely on one edge and duller on the other. </p><p>“It’s just the one like that,” he said, equal parts hoarse and confused.  The mortifying terror of how incredibly lucky she was if Felix only kept a single blade like that crashed down on her while he staggered to his feet.  “Thank you Mercedes.” Annette felt a warmth that told her Mercedes was now working on her.</p><p>“It’s only my job,” she smiled.  “You two did so good thinking on the fly.  To think this is your first time working together like this!”</p><p>Annette hadn’t even thought about it: there just hadn’t been time to process.  Just then, the ground shook and the next thing they knew, Solon-Tomas-was yelling something about the forbidden spell of Zaharas.  Kronya’s cries of anguish flaked away bit by bit as though she were truly made of ash and her very being fueled an ominous, unfamiliar sigil.  Yanking the both of them off the stone and into the grass, Mercedes and the two of them tumbled to the ground.</p><p>“What was-“Annette didn’t get to finish.  The stone plaza billowed with sickening purple smoke, and when it passed, the Professor was gone.</p><p>“Not even the Fell Star can escape there!” Solon laughed. “Now to clean up.  The rest of you will die.”</p><p>“Not a chance in hell!” Dimitri was back on his feet, madness burning in his eyes.  The kind Felix had described to her when she asked why Felix called him the Boar.  “We’ll kill you all and get the Professor back.”</p><p>“That abomination is locked in another dimension and will never return,” Solon’s eyes regarded them all like they were insects or something lower.  “Enjoy your last moments.”</p><p>“Gather close everyone,” Dimitri’s voice rang out to the class, then his voice dropping suddenly. “We fight until only one side stands.”</p><p>The enemy must have rallied together as they had fought Kronya.  They teemed along the hillsides surrounding Solon.  “Can you fight, Felix?” Annette whispered.</p><p>He was pale still, but seemed alright. Much more functional than he was bleeding out on the stone plaza only minutes before.  “Yes.  Would you give me my sword?” <em>Whoops.</em>  She wordlessly returned his blade and hoped he wouldn’t notice the amount of sweat on the grip since she borrowed it.</p><p>Mages, archers, knights, and cavaliers surged toward their position.  A single question ate at her and would ruin her focus if left unanswered. </p><p>Her voice was small. “Felix?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Are we going to die?”</p><p>He hesitated.  “Not today.”</p><p>Felix had better tactical judgement than most of them.  So with that reassurance, Annette breathed deep, cleared her mind, and readied a fire sigil.  She could feel a thrum in the air of the amount of magic at the ready, feel the tension of every bowstring and weapon held fast for when Dimitri would call it.</p><p>If these loons thought the Blue Lions were going down without taking down every last one of them along with them, they were very sorely mistaken.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Things I learned writing this chapter: those hats archers wear are called bycockets.  I was going to reference it but it’s such a silly word I just couldn’t do it!  XD<br/>This also gave me a chance to explain my spin on how “resistance” works in fire emblem.  After all, it may work in the game to get whacked in the face with a fire ball and take no damage, but I had to adapt a little to flow in real time XD  Likewise, I had to explain how units are receiving orders.  The stone on the bracelet Annette wears in the chapter will actually become the brooch on her cape in the time-skip design!<br/>Also I knew I was a little hopeful about getting this chapter out quickly but you can blame that on Cindered Shadows dropping.  And grad school.  And midterms.  But!  It ended up getting so long it’s gonna be a 3-parter!  This ain't gonna be any longer than that though, I just thought it fit better for the reading flow. It's also because I got to this point and realized I had nearly doubled the length of the first chapter XD My nice little plan of naming symmetry is out the window, gosh darn it, I had too much fun writing the battle XD Welp.  I'll figure something out for next time!<br/>And as always, thank you for reading and leaving feedback!<br/>-Legend</p>
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